Baby not gaining weight but looks healthy

My baby boy looks chunky to me but hasn't gained much weight since his last appointment. Each time he goes in he's dropped in weight percentile too. He's 7 months 2 weeks and 17.5 lbs. My baby is Asian though, so maybe he will always be small on the American baby charts.

You nailed it when you said "makes me feel like I failed." that's exactly how I feel everytime I go on for my baby's weight check. She was 14 lbs 8 oz at her 6th month appt. 2 months have passed and I still don't think there has been any noticeable difference in her! I need to just accept that she will remain a petite girl!

My kid is smaller than all three of yours, but has held consistent in the percentile. I heard from a friend that her doc was concerned when the percentile dropped month after month. What did your ped say?

Has he lost any weight? Don't focus on the percentile if its only been one appts. If he has just gained less, that's okay. If he hasn't gained any, that's okay too. Now if he lost weight or continues to not gain it might be a problem. Growth starts to slow in some babies around this time. He could always go through a growth spurt soon too.

My lo is only 12 lbs and some oz. ( she keeps losing a few oz then gaining.) But she has not gained ( getting to over 12 lbs 11 t oz) in over 2 months.We took her to the GI Dr last week. He wasn't concerned because she looks fine and is happy. But they do want me to try to breastfeed here more and try to get her to eat more solids. We're essentially trying to pump her full of calories for two weeks are reweigh her. If she doesn't gain, we'll do more tests.

@ Chepal - Yes, perhaps I will have to accept that I have a petite boy. My husband and I are both skinny folks, but I was hoping he would get his daddy's height and not mine.

@ Workingfortheweekend - My baby is dropping in percentile at every appointment although he is gaining weight. My doctor told me to feed him more. She gave me this crazy schedule that required me to feed him about 8 times a day. (Milk + two foods) Since I'm a SAHM, I actually followed this crazy schedule, but he's only gained 1 lb since December!

@smarie - Yes my peds told me feed her more food too. Except I fed my baby low calorie stuff like carrots/apples which made him lose weight at one point. So I'm feeding 3 oz a food a day and trying to pump him with as much breast milk as possible.

@OlliegatorsMommy - He's gaining weight, but extremely slowly. He had some crazy growths spurts in the beginning, but it's been slow for a long time now. I hope your daughter will gain weight after your 2 weeks of hard work. Feed feed feed! That's what our lives revolve around now doesn't it? I did something similar and he barely gained 1 lb after so much work.

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I've been thinking now that maybe I should switch to faster flowing nipples. My baby has been using the same bottles since birth. Maybe I should buy some faster flowing ones.

My first 2 were more consistant gainers but this LO is not. Between 5 and 6 months he only gained a few ounces, I was kinda worried--although he had figured out how to get on hands and knees during that time so I think he was just more active. The next month he gained almost 1.5 pounds.

Moving more will burn more calories and can slow weight gain, and it's common for them to become distracted and eat less--my older ones each had a 3 month period where they did this.

Naiko: don't worry too much about the percentiles an the graphs. My LO is 15 punds an he is 7 months and 2 weeks. He has always been below the percentile 5 because he was a SGA baby (small for gestational age) so he will always be smaller than other babies. The important thing is that your baby is happy, healthy and reaching milestones.

Also my Ped is always tormenting me with food, he always tells me to feed LO more but I can't force him if he is already full. A friend, who is pediatrician also, told me that the percentiles just represents the average of weight but don't represent the ideal weight. Take in consideration that obesity is a major problem in this generation so maybe if your baby is below percentile 25 (like mine) is even healthier than a baby in the 90%.

Sorry for my long comment. Hang in there mommy, you're doing it great. And feed, feed, feed lol.

@Babyinor - Yes my little guy is super active now. Constantly standing in his crib and falling back and repeating this all day. I guess I should think it is a miracle that he is retaining any calories at all! He is super distracted too. I questioned whether I was eating too much candy, but it sounds normal now. Thanks!

@ Eponine - I am fixated on those percentile and graphs, but it's probably unhealthy. They didn't exist for my parents, who are always telling me he's fine. Yes, my baby is well below 25% now, but you make a negative sound like a positive. I like it! Yes, every day is about feed feed feed. My poor chest is sore from feeding and pumping all day long. Thanks!